Church Council Meeting

May 11, 2010

Committee/Ministry Reports for Consent Agenda

Discipleship, Children’s Ministry

Internal Audit of Safe Sanctuary Background Check - Caroline Tobler is generating a list of all background checks performed to date.  We will compare those to our volunteer list and request a background check from those who have not had one.

We also plan to meet with all volunteers in late summer to make sure the Safe Sanctuary policy is understood by all.

Events:

VBS High Seas Expedition planning is in full swing!  Typically, Wesley hosts about 200 kids during VBS week.  VBS will take place the week of June 21-25.  Volunteers are still needed in many areas, so please sign up to help and encourage others to get involved as well.  You can register to volunteer or sign up children online, by clicking the VBS link on wesleyssi.org.

CMT is planning several Family Fun events over the summer where families can come together for fellowship.  Stay tuned for more details!

One date already planned is a Family Back to School Beach Bash scheduled for Saturday August,  21.

Staff Parish Relations Committee Report

We are pleased to announce that Stephanie Wade has been hired as our new budgeted part-time youth assistant.  She began her new position on May 1st.  She is an island native and comes to us with quite an impressive resumé.

Submitted by Brad Stroud

Worship Committee Report

Holy Week and Easter Sunday observances were all well attended.  The messages throughout the week were very powerful and enjoyable.  The Easter lilies were beautiful and added a lot to the beauty of the church.  Thank you, Lucas and the youth of the church, for cutting the palmetto branches.  It was a huge help to us.

Our monthly Communions are running smoothly and we would welcome any volunteers who wish to participate as Communion servers.  Please contact Betty Ellis at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or Gaylene Benson at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

We continue to pray for Faye's speedy recovery and return to SSI.

Submitted by Gaylene Benson

Mission Committee Report

Volunteers have been actively participating in the Manna House, Hearts and Hands, and Hospice Meal Ministries, as well as Sparrows Nest, Wolfe Street and the Burroughs-Mollette mentoring project of Faith Works. Arrangements were made to have a Sunday school class help with outside benches at Magnolia Manor.

Missions prepared a display to highlight and explain the Momentum Box Project of the Jim Wroton Prayer Breakfast; this was taken by Pastor Stephens and Rod Sawall to Douglas for the district meeting on April 25, to be displayed with other Celebration Moments of area churches.  To date, over 268 families have received the boxes, representing $13,400 in donations.  Another focus on this successful and important project is planned as summer requests at Sparrows Nest are expected to increase.

The Youth are sponsoring a Golf Tournament on May 21 at Hampton to raise money for the Peru mission trip. Please contact Edna Romano at 638-7614 or Lucas Ramirez at the church, if you would like to participate or volunteer to help that day.  The youth and any adults who can help will work on a project in Brunswick the week of June 14-18.

UMCOR has just posted a way to help victims of the devastating tornadoes and floods in Tennessee, Mississippi and Arkansas. Please keep all those affected by this situation in your prayers as UMCOR first responders access the situation.  UMCOR Advance #901670 U.S. Disaster Response Spring Floods is a way Wesley members can give to our local church, but have the money sent straight to this particular disaster relief.

Trustees Committee Report

1. Spending of an $81,670 gift from the Wroton Estate.  
As reported in January, we have acquired 200 new chairs for the Celebration Hall.  We have also acquired several new kitchen appliances, including a deep fryer, new stove/oven, convection oven, warming oven, freezer, and a pot rack.  We have installed a gas line and tank, and upgraded some electrical in the kitchen.  With all of this work complete, we have spent approximately $24,000 of the Wroton gift. Rod Sawall will be constructing a small fence to surround the new gas tank that has been placed on the patio. 

2. Youth Room renovations have been completed and the new chairs are in.

3.  In the Celebration Hall, carpeting is down, new conduit has been installed and the staging has been re-covered.  We are working on new lighting, new paint and a sound booth for that room, as well as a new projection system.  We also want to re-hang the cross that originally occupied the area above the stage.  Many thanks to Jere Bowden for all of her assistance with this room.  We expect to meet Wednesday, 5/12, with a contractor pertaining to the sound booth. 

4. We are still working/researching with regard to the need for replacement of some 12 HVAC units in the old portion of the facility.  Our first bid was $149,000.  We now have a second bid at $91,000.  Both are from reputable firms, and we are looking for one more bid to come in.  These units would be much more efficient than the old ones, and will be compatible with our new Carrier I-Vu system.  Thanks to Brent Anderson for all of his hard work on this project. We also now have a bid for painting the Children's Wing (at $12,000).  We are also investigating flooring for the Children's Wing.

5.  Beth Knittle and Ann Willis are continuing their work on the Facility Usage Policies.  We had a special meeting of the Trustees last month for work on this issue alone, and we are making progress. 

There are perhaps 10 or so other, more minor, projects that are ongoing or have been dealt with more quickly.  Among those, we are working on creating some functional storage for Sunday school teachers; we have assisted with the new Wesley Café and are working on having a doorway to the courtyard installed. We have approved a new computer for the pre-school, renewed the church insurance, approved painting in the parsonage, are investigating installation of handrails at the back entrance to the adult education wing, ordered a plaque for the Joe Justin Walters Music Suite, etc. 

Weekday Ministry Report

 Over 100 children registered for summer camp. We are at capacity and have closed registration.

Limited spots are still available in preschool for the 2010-2011 school year.  4 spots remain in 3’s. A second 1’s class has been formed to meet demand. We need to hire a couple of full time teachers and a floater for these rooms. Please spread the word if you know of anyone who may be interested in these positions.

May is a busy time of year. We have 10 children graduating from Pre-K on May 20th. We have our spring program on May 13th. We had a surprise luncheon on May 5th for the teachers to celebrate Teacher Appreciation Week.

Our spring carnival was a very beautiful day for fun and friendship. We made $1000 at this annual fundraiser.

First bid for floors $40,000 ( Brunswick Floors) for entire school including hallways, dining room, old sound room and bathrooms by kitchen. The original floors are in dire need of replacing.

We received a bid of $7,500 from Tutela to add to camera/security system.

We received a painting bid of $12,000.

Nurture and Care Report

The nurture ministry leaders and their volunteers met for an informal get together on the 4th of May. We had a great time of fellowship and prayer. We plan to meet again in the fall.

Topics discussed were:

1. Most of our discussion was on how we can better communicate with each other to ensure that we are doing the best we can to minister to the needs of our church family.    

2. Ideas on how to encourage our Church family to make Nurture aware of the needs of others.

    a. Jenny Strauss (Flower Ministry leader) has agreed to write up a blurb for the Church bulletin.

    b. All attending ministry leaders suggested the possibility of visiting Sunday school classes to talk to members about how our different ministries can be utilized.

    c. Judy is going to get with Pastor Stephens and Josh Sholander to discuss some other ways we feel we may communicate to members.

3. We are in need of a meal coordinator for the meals ministry.

4. Also discussed was the need for volunteers in each ministry.

Wesley is extremely blessed with the people who serve in this ministry. Their hearts are for serving the Lord's people. Many testimonials were shared about how serving has touched or blessed their lives.

If you see Jenny Strauss, Ashley Cudd, Kelly Trowbridge, Bobbie Mohlman, Debra Snider, Tom Burton, Preston and Margaret Martin, Hank and Sophia Condon, or any of the heaven sent volunteers, please give them a shout-out or a nice pat on the back.

Lay Leader Report

We have kicked off the participation of Lay Liturgists within the worship services. Lay liturgists provide an additional voice to support the pastor during worship and participate in welcoming visitors, leading affirmations, creeds and offertory prayers.  Thanks to all laity who have volunteered to support this role. For those who would like to participate, please contact Mike Cudd at 912-258-2892 or via email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it    

Discipleship, Prime Timers

The Prime Timers Senior Adult Ministry has thrived the past few years under the leadership of Nancy Parkinson and Anne Reynolds.  We enjoy monthly lunches in local restaurants, picnics together, as well as concerts and Broadway shows in Jacksonville.  We are now in our final planning stages for a spring outing scheduled for Monday, May 17. We will be going to Saint Mary's for lunch and a trip to the museum.  Recent, unfortunate events in both Nancy's and Anne's lives leave us sad, yet grateful for their faithful years of leadership and dedication to Wesley.  We ask for prayer for this ministry as we seek new leadership and guidance in our growing Senior Adult ministry.

Submitted by Paige Gober